Page 337 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - AUGUST 2024

8/26/24, 4:54 PM UAE's Foreign Trade Hits $379.8B In H1 2024
products. He noted that this was the sixth consecutive half-year period of foreign trade growth.

He added that the UAE's trade performance defies the global trend of slowing trade growth, which
averaged just 1.5% in the first half of this year.

"It’s clear that our Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) program is playing a
central role in achieving these record results," said Al Zeyoudi.

He highlighted that bilateral trade with CEPA partners India and Turkey grew 15% and 9.8%,
respectively, now accounting for 11.7% of the UAE's total foreign trade.

Big number

$1.089 trillion (AED 4 trillion). That is the UAE's target for non-oil foreign trade by 2031.

Non-oil business activity

In July, the seasonally-adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to its

lowest reading since September 2021, dropping to 53.7 from 54.6 in the previous month. This figure
settled 0.7 basis points below the long-running average of 54.4, indicating slower growth levels in

the Gulf state's non-oil sector.

Recent partnerships

In July, the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Chile, establishing

a trade and investment corridor for boosting their non-oil trade.

The deal intends to boost the UAE’s non-oil trade with Chile by eliminating or reducing customs

duties, removing trade barriers, and simplifying customs procedures. It will also result in the
establishment of new pathways for investment flows and cooperation while enabling the private

sectors of both countries to build partnerships.

In the same month, the UAE signed agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with
China in key areas of mutual interest, including energy and logistics, as part of their Comprehensive

Strategic Partnership (CSP).

China is the UAE’s largest trading partner, with their bilateral trade reaching $95 billionin 2023,
including $83 billion in non-oil trade, marking a 7.5% year-on-year growth.

The article was updated at 15:08 AST.

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